Consolidated Minimum Wage Table U S. Department of Labor

If the decision is to hold a conference, the parties will be notified by mail of the date, time and place of the conference. The purpose of the conference is to determine the validity of the claim, and to see if the claim can be resolved without a hearing. If the claim is not resolved at the conference, the next step usually is to refer the matter to a hearing or dismiss it for lack of evidence.

Cost of Living

Washington state continues to have the nation’s highest base hourly rate, going from $14.49 in 2022 to $15.74 at the start of 2023. Sign up on our mailing list here to be the first to know when it is available. The Wage and Hour Division tries to ensure that the information on this page is accurate but individuals should consult the relevant state labor office for official information.

Unemployment rate

State senators on the Labor Committee voted to halt Democratic New Orleans Sen. Gary Carter’s bills to create a state minimum wage higher than the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour and an equal pay measure for women. Both 5-2 votes fell along party lines with all five Republicans against the measures and two Democrats in favor. The minimum wage is established by Congress and enforced by the Department of Labor. The living wage is a subjective concept calculated by policymakers and advocacy groups that works backward from actual costs of living to calculate a wage that covers the basic needs and expenses — housing, food, healthcare, transportation, etc. If the minimum wage in a particular area is less than the estimated living wage, the suggestion is that earnings from a full-time minimum-wage job are not enough to support someone without additional income or aid. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee do not have a state minimum wage, so employers are obligated to pay the federal minimum wage.

Wage and Hour Resources for Employers

• 1 The overtime premium rate is one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate, unless otherwise specified.
• The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division enforces these rights.
• One of the basic principles of the American workplace is that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.
• “Exempt” employees either earn a fixed salary that’s not hour-dependent or have weekly pay above a certain threshold (currently, $684), making them exempt from the minimum wage (and often from overtime pay).
• I remember when it was commonplace to hear arguments for abolishing the minimum wage.
• 1 Like the federal wage and hour law, State law often exempts particular occupations or industries from the minimum labor standard generally applied to covered employment.

The state adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference if the federal rate is greater than the State rate. An employee earning a guaranteed monthly compensation of $2,000 or more is exempt from the State minimum wage and overtime law. The State adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference if the federal rate is greater than the State rate. Since fiscal year 2020, the division’s Sacramento District Office has recovered more than Minimum Wages in USA $2 million in back wages and liquidated damages for 469 workers in the food service industry and assessed $215,081 in penalties to employers. Although no litigation has yet been filed, litigation impacting the effective date and enforcement of this final rule is possible. For example, in 2016, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction preventing a DOL final rule regarding white collar exemptions from taking effect.

Currently, a worker receiving the federal minimum wage and working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, earns about $15,080 before taxes. In 2022, the national poverty guideline for a family of two was $18,310 a year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The FLSA does not provide wage payment collection procedures for an employee’s usual or promised wages or commissions in excess of those required by the FLSA. In addition, some counties and cities within states may implement a higher minimum wage than the rest of their state.

Employers covered by the FLSA but who are not subject to the Puerto Rico Minimum Wage Act must pay at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Employees receive 1 hour of pay at minimum wage rate in addition to owed wages when spread of hours exceeds 10 hours, there is a split shift, or both. The Florida minimum wage is scheduled to increase by $1.00 every September 30th until reaching $15.00 on September 30, 2026. Information on the Youth Minimum Wage ProgramA minimum wage of not less than $4.25 may be paid to employees under age 20 for their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment, as long as their employment does not displace other workers.

• The minimum wage in the Portland metro area is $15.45 per hour and the minimum wage in nonurban counties is $13.20 per hour.
• Currently, workers earning $684 per week (the equivalent of $35,568 per year for a full-time, full-year employee) can be forced to work hours a week for no more pay than if they worked 40 hours.
• A Denver-based federal appeals court declined a recreational touring industry request to block President Joe Biden’s $15 minimum wage for federal contractors.
• This judgment has the same force and effect as any other money judgment entered by the court.
• To be eligible for minimum wage, an employee must be both covered and nonexempt.
• Washington state continues to have the nation’s highest base hourly rate, going from $14.49 in 2022 to $15.74 at the start of 2023.

State Minimum Wage Laws